“The terms of trade DO NOT allow for the iPlayer to be accessed outside of the UK as this cuts across the commercial rights of independent producers.”

In 2004, Pact brokered terms of trade with the BBC as a template for commissioning contracts.

In 2006, an additional agreement concerning video on-demand was struck which allows producers to commercialise their own programmes through VOD aggregators after an initial period of BBC exclusivity.

But that agreement concerns rights “in the UK”. Even if the BBC develops a way to authenticate UK license payers whilst they are overseas, this could stretch the limits of the agreement…

Indeed, the TV rights business is highly dependent on windowing on a national boundary basis. That’s why iPlayer can only be accessed in the UK.

Thompson appeared to acknowledge the potential niggle when he announced the idea in his MacTaggart Lecture at the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival on Friday night: “It’s the right time to take a fresh look at whether the current terms are fit for purpose ... we may need more flexibility from the producers.”

McVay added: “Also, I think that, if this is a free service, that BBC Worldwide may also have issues with this half-baked proposal.”

The BBC’s commercial wing has itself been trying to launch a revenue-making, overseas equivalent to iPlayer, in order to show programmes like Doctor Who and Top Gear as VOD to non-UK users, particularly those in the U.S.. But the service has still not materialised, with the rights complexity believed to be at fault.

BBC Worldwide tells paidContent:UK: “It is still happening.”